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Janira struggles to her feet, wincing and dusting herself off. "Thank you! I'm so glad you found me when you did. I thought for sure I could lose that beast, but I just couldn't shake him. I thought I was a goner!" She looks around at you, proudly. "Oh, Desirea, you're hurt! Who has my wand?" She takes her wand from Palakar and uses it to heal Desirea's wounds before doing the same for herself. "So! What did you find in the cave? Were there any gilmen? Did you finish exploring?"
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A crabby voice sounds from the cloud of smoke. WHAT? Find the grave? Yes: Wu found the grave, thank you very much! Not a whit of guilt or shame in you, sending old Wu to tumble into the earth. HA! I have transcended your schemes! Wu even found your mucky maître d' malingering in a damp corner, the rotten gelatin served too soon, a shoddy little city that will probably burn to the ground and tragically kill all its skulking frogs, and a man who stole my blanky. He's friends with the urchin, but Wu has bested them all! HA!
A foot stamps. WHAT!? No one witnessed my snoring! Wu never naps! Alert as a fox! Where's my penny? Whose Desirea? I smell burnt pork — bring the porkchops, extra burnt!
You hear a thud, and snoring in the cloud.
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Lucius finally makes it over the log, comes up and salutes.
"We did indeed find a gillman - it appears the place is a holy one for them. Also what appear to be ancient depictions of Aroden. Much of the divine energy from the place has dissipated, it seems. There was also a small sculpted version of what appeared to be Ancient Absalom. Performing actions mirroring the Aspects of Aroden appear to provide some small divine boon. We also found evidence of a dhampir trying to raise an army of undead gillmen, but he seems to have succumbed to some of his creations, which we summarily dispatched. Also, some sort of gelatinous enemy that we also dealt with. With your permission, Agent, I'd like to retrieve my mount and companion."
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Right, first there was a pit that someone had dug in the hallway and there was this really nice cloak in the pit and Wu fell in then Desirea climbed down into it then up the other side with some rope that we used to get across, but then right around the corner was a plank we could have used if we'd been coming the other way. So then we went down the tunnel more and there were old carvings on the walls that were mostly worn out but someone said they had something to do with Aroden but he died so they talk much.
Then there was a big room with a pond in it, and there was a gillman in the pond and I tried to bond with the pond but it didn't work. But we found this big rock that had been carved to look like Absalom, but I don't think the starstone pit was infinitely deep. And there were all sorts of bugs and frogs in it so some people tried to mess with them while I just tried to color the rocks to match what they look like now. Oh, and we tried to talk to the gilman but I don't think he could hear very well. It turns out the cloak belonged to him, so we gave it over, and he told us the place was holy to his people during full moons so they make religious trips there.
I started to do some mapping, but Wu ran off so we followed him to a dead end with some zombies in it, which seemed rather fitting. It was a bit of a mess because there was a narrow gap to get in the room and Wu put a bunch of marbles there, and because my stories don't really do anything to undead. But after we sliced up the zombies we found another dead guy there who wasn't a zombie but he had some notes on him that he was trying to animate an army of zombies but I guess it didn't work out.
I did a bit more mapping, but then Wu ran off again and we found this big thing of moving goo that Wu hit with his sword and it fell apart. Then we heard you so we came out that hidden exit over there and found you! Though really, you should have just come in the cave with us because I don't think the big guy would have fit in here very well. Oh, here's the maps and notes!
Palakar takes a moment to finish off her map, and hands it over to Janira with some notes, which include the following:
'I'm writing this part down because I don't want Wu to hear, but I think he needs to be retired from missions. He's not very well connected to reality and seems to think we're in a restaurant all the time. And he keeps doing things that make it harder to work together like putting marbles and smoke in our way. He falls asleep a lot and is always complaining or insulting people or running off. He hits really hard with that sword so I don't want him to get mad about this, but I think you should just leave him in a lumber yard to chop wood instead of sending him on dangerous missions. He's too much of a liability to travel with safely.'
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Janira writes a quick response. "Well, I trust Master Shaine and the other Masters. If they say he should be on a mission, that's good enough for me. Still, feedback is always good. Make sure to include that in your report."
Out loud, she says "Sounds like you're ready to head back! Let's gather up our supplies and camp here tonight, then we can head back in the morning!"
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After an uneventful journey back, you're greeted by an enthusiastic Kreighton Shaine."Oh my, that's wonderful! I'm glad to see you all back in one piece, though from what Janira has told me, that was a near thing. Wonderful job guiding and protecting them, Janira! I knew I could count on you."
Shaine spends some time reading over your notes, pausing to ask questions and to theorize on the meaning and history of the things you've found.
"Well done recording your experiences while fresh in your mind. It’s difficult enough to remember what one had for breakfast the day before, let alone to recall exactly what one was thinking while reading an inscription. Make sure to write up your report thoroughly. After all, at this moment you are the world's foremost authority on those caves. It's only fitting, then, that you should name them! So, what shall we call the place?"
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Three days later, the three deans of the Society, Master Shaine, Master Zey Westyr, and Master Farabellus confirm you as full Pathfinder field agents. As part of the ceremony, they give each of you a personalized wayfinder, to remind you that this is not only the symbol of the Pathfinder’s trade but also a reminder of the three principle duties: explore, report, and cooperate.